Paint easel,tray,and liner therefor



Se t. 16, 1969 s. a. SILVER 3,467,259

PAINT EASEL, TRAY, AND LINER THEREFOR Filed March 15, 1967 INV ENT OR Sandra 5'. Silver BY WW W ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,467,259 PAINT EASEL, TRAY, AND LINER THEREFOR Sandra B. Silver, 2491 N. 50th St., Apt. 144, Philadelphia, Pa. 19131 Filed Mar. 15, 1967, Ser. No. 623,393 Int. Cl. A47b 73/00, 97/04; F17c 11/00 US. Cl. 21174 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A paint jar holder for easels, the liner therefor and the combination of the holder, liner and easel in which there is provided a tray which may be secured to an easel having at least one paint jar holder well therein and including a removable disposable impermeable liner for the well corresponding in shape and inserted therein which liner includes a drip catching flange extending from the mouth of the well a substantial distance. In some instances an integral splash board is provided secured to the fianae and extending in an upright fashion.

This invention relates to paint easels, and the tray and liners therefor. Specifically the invention provides means for catching paint which has been splashed out of bottles held by the tray and further means for readily cleaning the paint wells.

Paint easels presently on the market and particularly those used for children of the kindergarten and lower grades are provided with a tray having a series of wells to hold various bottles of paints. The children tend to splash the paint onto the tray as they are dipping from the bottles. After a certain period of time, the tray becomes quite unsightly and the paint tends to flow into the well and makes removal of the paint bottles for replacement thereof difficult. Educators in the kindergarten and primary grades who utilize these devicesfrequently are required to clean the trays. This is very difiicult to do as the available easels on the market have the trays permanently secured to the easels. This means that the teacher must take a wet cloth and remove the paint by a washing process as best she can and with considerable difficulty. A great deal of time is consumed even though in most instances the paints used are of the washable variety. Another problem is that the children frequently splash the paint onto the easel above the tray which also requires additional cleaning by the teacher or instructor.

It is an object of this invention to provide an easel which has removable means to permit a teacher or instructor to readily clean out the wells into which paint bottles have been placed.

A further object of this invention is to provide a readily removable liner which cooperates with the tray of an easel into which the paint bottles may be placed and which may be readily removed for washing purposes.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a removable liner which will hold a plurality of paint bottles and which is provided with a skirt or drip catching flange extending outwardly from the well into which the bottle is placed.

Another object of this invention is to provide a liner for use in trays on paint easels which can be molded or otherwise formed from inexpensive plastic or other type sheet material.

Yet a further object of this invention is to provide a liner for trays used on easels which may be readily positioned and readily removed from the tray with a minimum of effort.

Another object of the invention is to provide a disposable liner which can be constructed from paper, plastic, etc.

Another object of this invention is to provide a liner which resembles a rectangular box which will hold a series of bottles and which is provided with a splash board to prevent paint from being splashed onto the easel itself.

A further object of this invention is to provide an easel with a series of removable liners individually positioned in the wells of a paint tray. The liners will abut each other and provide a continuous surface for catching paint.

A further object of this invention is to provide a series of individual liners which may be individually removed from a paint tray for easels so that it is unnecessary to clean all of the liners but only those which may be excessively dirty.

Still a further object of this invention is to provide a liner for easels which can easily be washed out at a faucet or the like and which has a smooth surface readily wiped out.

These and other objects of this invention will be apparent from a study of the accompanying drawings and the following description and claims:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view showing a paint easel with tray removably attached as generally used by this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a cross sectional view taken along the lines 22 in FIGURE 1 and viewed in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 3 is a modification of a liner showing individual sections in abutting relationship;

FIGURE 4 illustrates one section of the liner assembly shown in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is still a further modification of the inventionshowing an oblong shaped tray in part and a liner inserted therein;

FIGURE 6 is yet another modification of the invention showing a liner and the attached splash board.

FIGURES 1 AND 2 In FIGURE 1 the easel E is comprised of a frame member 10 and a frame member 12 which are hinged together at the top by hinges (not shown). Legs 14 support the frames 10 and 12 and drawing boards 16 and 18 are secured to the frames 10 and 12. Beneath the drawingboards 16 and 18 are secured trays 20 and 22 which hold-receptacles such as bottles or jars or containers of paint 24 in a series of wells 26. A liner 28 is provided with a series of impermeable depressions or well liners 30. Between the well liners 30 are splash or drip catching flanges or surfaces 32. Similarly, at the ends of the liner 28 are drip catching flanges 34. The liner 28 can be readily inserted into the various wells 26 and readily removed by merely lifting up at the edges or areas 34 of the liner 28. When the paint accumulates, the teacher merely removes the liner, removes the bottles of paint,

and places the liner under the faucet and readily washes oil the paint. In the case where the paint is of an oil type, solvents or the like may be used for cleaning the liner. It will be obvious that the liner can be formed from readily replaceable inexpensive sheet stock such as paper, plastic or metal for throw-away purposes. Where certain solvents are necessary for cleaning purposes, the material used will have to be one which will not be injured by these solvents.

FIGURES 3 AND 4 In FIGURE 3, the liner generally designated as 36 is comprised of a series of abutting'units 38 each of the units 38 are individually removable by breaking at score lines shown in FIGURE 3. There may be some other interlocking mechanism to provide for unitary cooperation such as tongue and groove, etc.

The units 38 are provided at the central portion with a liner well 40. It will not be obvious that if the teacher desires only to clean one or two of the walls which have become excessively covered with paint, they may be individually removed and washed and therefore it will not necessitate removing the whole liner as in the case of FIGURES 1 and 2.

The units 38 are generally rectangular in configuration and are provided with a large flange area similar to the flange areas 32 and 34 of FIGURES 1 and 2.

FIGURE FIGURE 5 illustrates another modification of the invention. In some instances, the easels are provided with a single slot in the tray which holds all of the bottles of ink or paint as the case may be. In this instance, the tray 42 is protected by a liner 44 which is provided with longitudinally extending flanges on the sides 46 and 48 and on the ends 50 and 52. In this instance, a series of bottles can be placed into the opening slot or trough 54. When it is necessary to clean the liner, it is removed easily from the tray 42 and washed under the faucet.

FIGURE 6 FIGURE 6 illustrates yet another modification in which the liner 56 having the series of liner wells 58 is provided with a splash board 60 extending upwardly from the flange area 62 of the liner 56. It will be noted that the splash board 60 may extend a considerable ways upwardly and completely cover for example the frames and drawing boards 16 and 18. The splash board 60 may extend only a short way up if so desired. It should be further noted that the splash board 60 extends longitudinally across substantially the entire length of the liner 56 in order to provide the most protection from splashmg.

In use, the paper upon which the painting is to be made, is secured to the splash board 60 by tape or the like or by some clamping mechanism (not shown) and the student is then able to paint onto the paper without fear of splashing the paints onto the drawing board 16 or 18 because of the protective covering of the splash board 60.

It will be obvious that there are other types of easels which can adapt to the liners and trays of this invention. The one illustrated in FIGURE 1 is merely indicative of the general state of the art.

While the invention has been described in connection with different embodiments thereof, it will be understood that it is capable of further modification, and this application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention following, in general, the principles of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which the invention pertains, and as may be applied to the essential features hereinbefore set forth and fall within the scope of the invention or the limits of the appended claims.

.4 Having thus described my invention, what I claim is: 1. A paint receptacle holder for easels comprising:

(a) a tray,

(b) at least one paint receptacle holder well in said tray,

(c) a removable impermeable liner to said well corresponding in shape and inserted therein,

(d) said liner having a drip catching flange extending from the mouth of said well a substantial distance,

(c) said liner includes a splash board.

2. A paint receptacle for easels as in claim 1, wherein:

(a) said splash board extends upwardly from said drip catching flange and extends substantially the length of said liner.

3. A paint receptacle holder for easels comprising:

(a) a tray,

(b) at least one paint receptacle holder well in said tray,

(c) a removable impermeable liner for said well corresponding in shape and inserted therein,

(d) said liner having a drip catching flange extending from the mouth of said well a substantial distance,

(e) said tray includes a plurality of said paint receptacle holder wells in spaced relation,

(f) said tray includes a plurality of said liners for said wells, and

(g) said liners are secured to a splash board.

4. A removable liner for paint trays for easels:

(a) said liner being of sheet material,

(b) said liner having a generally smooth surface and including,

(c) a series of similar wells individually spaced from one another,

(d) said liner including a drip catching area extending outwardly a substantial distance from said wells to the outer edge of said liner, and

(e) a splash board integrally secured to said drip catching area.

5. A removable liner for paint trays for easels:

(a) said liner being of light weight pre-forrned sheet material,

(b) said liner having a smooth flat surface,

(c) a series of spaced wells integrally formed in the central portion of said surface so as to provide a relatively broad drip catching area about said wells,

(d) said wells are in-line,

(e) said liner is rectangularly shaped, and

(f) said liner includes a splash board secured integrally at one edge and extending substantially transverse to said flat surface.

6. In a paint easel having a paint tray with a plurality of spaced paint receptacle holder wells the improvement comprising:

(a) a unitary, removable liner of thin, light-weight preformed material which accurately fits over said tray,

(b) said liner having a plurality of spaced, open-mouth depressions forming paint receptacle holder well liners,

(c) the dimension of said liners being such that paint receptacles can be readily inserted and removed therefrom,

(d) the area of said liners between and around said open-mouth well liners constituting a drip flange which extends outwardly from said wells a substantial distance.

7. In a paint easel having a paint tray as set forth in claim 6, wherein:

(a) said well liners have the same shape and size and are disposed in-line, and

(b) said well liners are spaced apart less than their cross-sectional dimension.

8. In a paint easel having a paint tray with a plurality of spaced paint receptacle holder wells, the improvement comprising:

(a) a thin removable liner of light-weight pre-formed material having a plurality of well liners which ac- 5 curately fit over said tray and into said spaced paint receptacle holder wells,

(b) said well liners being disposed in-line and adapted to readily receive paint receptacles,

(c) said liner having a wide drip catching flange extending from the mouth of said wells a substantial distance in all directions, and

(d) said liner being suificiently rigid to permit the entire liner containing all of said paint bottles to be simultaneously lifted out of said paint tray to be cleaned by lifting said drip catching flange.

9. In a paint easel having a paint tray as set forth in claim 8, wherein:

(a) said liner is rectangularly shaped.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,003,482 6/1935 Fancher 248-441 2,236,992 4/ 1941 Broadley 220-65 XR 5 2,704,928 3/ 1955 Curry 211-74 XR 2,711,605 6/1955 Dripps 206l.7 2,771,709 11/ 195 6 Ritter 211-74 XR 3,101,864 8/1963 Glickman 220-65 XR 10 3,184,319 5/1965 Fritsche 220-65 XR US. Cl. X.R. 

